When Nathan Daniel founded the Danelectro company in 1947, his intention was to produce no-frills equipment with reasonably good tone at accessible price-points. By reducing the cost of materials and using simple designs allowed faster production speeds, Danelectro was able to secure a contract with Sears to start making affordable electric guitars sometime around 1954. Fully-hollow with a Masonite top and back around a Poplar frame, Danelectro guitars were far cheaper to produce than those made of solid wood (or even those made of plywood). For pickups, Danelectro used alnico magnets that were wrapped in tape and stuffed inside chrome-plated lipstick tubes—not generic metal cylinders, but actual surplus lipstick tubes! The pickups were wound to a relatively low output, and the lipstick tubes provided decent shielding and the distinctive tone that made players like Duane Eddy and Link Wray quick converts to the Danelectro sound. In 1966, MCA purchased the Danelectro company, and after running into issues with their landlord and renewing their lease agreement, they closed the Danelectro factory in 1969. For years, the Danelectro brand was known only to vintage collectors who sought out original examples. But in the late 1990s, the Evets Corporation purchased the "Danelectro" name mainly to produce effect pedals. When they showed up in 1997 with a full lineup of pedals, the industry had one question: "Where are the guitars?" Fortunately, that was more than enough to convince them to reissue Danelectro's classic designs and revive this classic brand. This Danelectro was made around 2000, and it is a reissue of the 1956 single-cutaway "U-2" design. It features two lipstick pickups and Danelectro's unmistakable "coke bottle" headstock design. This one appears to have been made in Korea, and it is in very clean cosmetic condition for a 20-year-old guitar. Although it does not have an adjustable truss rod, its neck still remains true and straight, and it plays well with low action all the way up and down the fingerboard. Its stacked volume/tone knobs and true-to-the-originals rosewood bridge saddle provide authentic Danelectro mojo and tone. For whatever reason, this Dano ended up with a PRS Premium gig bag which is certainly a nice way to cart it around.
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